


Chasing Princesses

by doingwords



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Kayfabe Compliant, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:59:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5497877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doingwords/pseuds/doingwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things have been complicated since R-Evolution. If Sami’s being honest, things have been complicated for far longer than that. But it ends today. It has to. And maybe something new can take its place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing Princesses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mithen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mithen/gifts).



Sami was flipping his motel room key between his fingers when Kevin emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist, a cloud of steam behind him. Pink patches adorned his neck where his beard came in contact with Kevin’s skin. Small bruises and barely-there scratches covered his torso as water dripped from his face, down his chest and stomach and all the parts he’d kissed moments ago.

In that moment, Sami wanted to tell Kevin that he thought he was beautiful. That looking into his eyes was like staring at an oil slick and trying to figure out how such a dark hue can hold a galaxy of colors. That every ninth grader who made fun of his appearance didn’t matter because Kevin Owens is a walking Metallica song and the coolest thing ever. That he could, and he would, and he _wanted to_ hit reset on the world’s most dysfunctional relationship and start over. 

What he said instead was, “This is the last time, Kevin. I can’t do this anymore.” 

He expected anger, confusion, a roll of the eyes. What he got was Kevin shocked into stillness. Over the years Sami learned to read Kevin’s emotional cues, but now he wasn’t providing any, and Sami had no idea where to go from here. But he did know he’d done right by himself. He could be so many things to Kevin, but he could no longer be his excuse every time Kevin loathed himself into a frenzy. It simply hurt too much.

A good minute passed before Kevin unraveled his towel and threw it underhanded against the wall. Sami didn’t know what to make of Kevin being so naked after what he’d just said, but then Kevin picked up his wedding band—his promise to someone else—and slipped it on. “Neither can I.” 

He should’ve seen this coming. It was the kind of cheap manipulation Kevin resorted to whenever they argued. _So you thought you could be free of me, Sami? Well guess what, I’m married, and I’ll never love you the way I love her._

“Does she know?” The question was a verbal mudslide, one Sami never intended to ask. But it was out there now. 

“Yeah. She does.”

Kevin gathered his clothes from the floor, tossing them on the bed. He added nothing more to the conversation, and Sami wondered if his choice was deliberate because there has never been anything quiet about them. They were ecstasy and agony, a history of screaming and talking and laughing and fighting and fucking. When she entered the picture, Kevin lit up just speaking her name, and that’s when Sami knew it was over. But as all their clandestine motel room visits told him, just because something was over didn’t mean it was ending.

His fury nested for years inside the secret chamber where he’d hidden all of his ugly, stubborn humanity. But age and experience have a way of softening the heart, and as he’s gotten older, Sami’s learned how complicated people can be. That’s all Kevin was. Not good or bad. Complicated.

Sami sat on the windowsill as Kevin dressed himself. He knew better than to ask, but as usual, he didn’t heed his own advice. “And?”

Kevin pulled on his t-shirt, disappearing the bruises on his back. His stiff shoulders fell with an exhale. “She gets it. She understands what you do to me. She’s amazing like that. But if you think you’re too good for me now, I guess I can’t stop you from leaving.” 

In the ring, Kevin was direct, fearless, but when it came to their relationship, Sami knew to read between the lines. _If you think you’re too good for me, I can’t stop you from leaving. But please don’t. Living the rest of my life without you would be fucking miserable._

“I’ve never hated you, y’know.” Sami ran a hand back over his head out of habit. He kept forgetting he’d shaved off his hair. “Even when I said I did.”

Kevin snorted and said nothing. 

Sami turned his attention to the view outside. It was raining in Winter Park again, and he thought it interesting that a state known for its sunshine would have so much gloomy weather. He missed the snow in Montreal. He missed a lot of things. “I’ll be married one day. I’ll meet someone who loves me the way you can’t.” Outside, the rain morphed into a downpour. A minivan parked under their window, and a family of four climbed out and ran toward the entrance. The youngest clung to her father, laughing. “And I’ll love them just as much. And we’ll be happy.”

The drone of rainfall occupied the room with them, filled in the gaps. A streak of lightning brightened the sky, then blinked out. Kevin, now fully dressed, joined him at the windowsill and stared in the same direction.

“I hope that works out for you,” Kevin said, finally. Sami’s body wanted to gasp, but he channeled the urge into a hard blink. Kevin shrugged. “I mean it.”

“I know. That’s—” The words he nearly said stuck to the roof of his mouth like gum to a shoe. _That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in a year. Why did I tolerate your jealousy for a **whole year**? What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with **me**?_ “I can tell when you’re being sincere.”

Everything about Kevin, from the slump of his shoulders to the crinkle at the corner of his eye, suggested the faintest vulnerability, the sole crack in an aged slab of marble. “My wife’s love… it’s the best feeling in the world. I can be a cruel man, but not enough to wish you the absence of that feeling.”

Sami breathed in until his chest ached, and when he expelled the air from his lungs, he felt as though he’d survived a storm that destroyed his house. Everything was gone, DVDs and luchador masks and band t-shirts, but he was alive, the sun was shining, and things can be replaced. Things can always be replaced. “I get why you can’t love me, I _get_ it. Just don’t _hate_ me. Not over things I can’t control.” And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the quiver in his voice. “You have _no_ idea how much I want us to be friends.”

Thunder cracked the sky so hard the furniture rattled. It was fitting weather, given the mood in the room. Kevin molded his hand to Sami’s scalp, groped the back of his head like he was feeling for ripeness. Sami couldn't help but lean into the touch as Kevin ran his thumb over the tiny spikes of growing hair. “You look…” He half-smiled. “So. _Stupid_.”

Sami laughed, and Kevin joined him, but the sounds were hollow, echo upon echo. And soon, they weren’t laughing because they were kissing, a mash of mouths that felt like the final stage of grieving. He sucked Kevin’s bottom lip, moaned when he moaned. Kevin’s arms had been his second home for over a decade, and Sami succumbed to its shelter. Their beards scraped together and charged the air, and Sami knew the second they stopped, this chapter of their lives would be over. Whether Kevin wanted to turn to the next page would be up to him.

Kevin separated first. Sami had left his hat on the round table by the bed, and Kevin picked it up and fixed it on Sami’s head, tugging it down over his eyes in what could’ve been a playful gesture but was now just strange. Once Sami straightened it, he met the dark almond swirl of Kevin’s eyes, and in that moment, Sami almost recanted everything. In Kevin’s eyes he saw their story: every border crossing, every crooked promoter, every match in front of twenty people, in front of hundreds. To lose that would be a waste, wouldn’t it. A bigger letdown than a worthless reward in a video game. Sorry, boys, your princess is in another castle. 

What Sami said instead was, “I’ll see you around, then?” 

Kevin looked out the window. It was still raining. “I hate you right now, Sami, but one day I _won’t_.” The word dangled in the air, infused with mourning. In a way, they both chased princesses. “And I look forward to that day.” 

Sami knew he should’ve left five minutes ago, but who would he be if he didn’t resist all of his self-preservation instincts. He wrapped a hand around the back of Kevin’s neck and kissed his forehead. Sami could toss Kevin every grappling hook he owned, but only Kevin can pull himself out of his own darkness. 

“Me too,” Sami said, and he offered him a smile. Kevin smiled back. It was a start.

**Author's Note:**

> I fretted over how angsty to make this, how much to mention Kevin's wife, how hopeful the ending was... in the end, I hope it was something you were able to enjoy, mithen. Have a wonderful holiday!


End file.
